The sport of bowfishing has been very popular for many years and most recently the interest in this exciting sport has skyrocketed. In bowfishing, an archer is able to practice his skill in hunting at any time of the year and is not confined to the more restrictive open seasons for conventional land based game, since one may usually always find open fishing seasons in not too distant streams, lakes, bays or the open waters.
As is well known to those skilled in the art, fishing with an archery bow involves the use of specially adapted arrows having a barbed arrowhead and wherein the arrow is tethered by a line leading from the arrow to a reel co-located with the bowfisherman. This reel may be attached to the user's bow or mounted adjacent thereto such that, upon shooting the arrow, the line automatically follows the flight of the arrow and subsequently provides means allowing for the retrieval of the spent tethered arrow, hopefully with a speared fish thereupon.
The shortcoming of existing bowfishing arrows becomes apparent at this point. Upon retrieval of an arrow that has impaled a fish, it will be understood that the barbed arrowhead will be at least embedded within the flesh and bones of the prey and in many cases will have passed through the fish body to the far side. In either case, the extraction of the arrow from the fish is anything but a simple or safe task. In view of the barbed nature of the arrowhead, the arrow obviously can not just be pulled rearwardly to remove it from the fish. The common procedure involves either collapsing the arrowhead barbs to allow withdrawal of the arrow in a rearward direction through the fish or, unscrewing or otherwise separating a removable arrowhead from its shaft so that the arrow may be freely withdrawn. This operation exposes the bowfisherman to unnecessary danger, attempting to manipulate a sharp arrowhead, especially while standing in a pitching boat and dealing with a fish that may still be thrashing about.
In view of the above, it will be appreciated that any improvement in this art which would lead to a more convenient and safe manner of handling bowfishing arrows will be welcomed. This is particularly advantageous during bowfishing competitions wherein prizes are awarded to those landing the greatest fish weight during a timed period. Thus, improved bowfishing arrows permitting of not only safe but also rapid extraction, will be most appreciated and if immediate subsequent reuse of that portion of the arrow to which the tether line is affixed is possible, then the speed by which a competitor may shoot for another fish will be vastly enhanced.